Lee Anderson MP urges Government to review Ashfield Council's finances
Ashfield MP Lee Anderson has written to the Government urging them to intervene and review Ashfield District Council's finances.
Read the letter below:
Dear The Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP,
Re: The Conviction of Ashfield District Council Leader Jason Zadrozny
On behalf of the residents of Ashfield, including Hucknall, I am writing to you following concerning revelations that the leader of Ashfield District Council has been convicted of fraud and tax evasion, and to urge you to intervene in the local council.
On the 21st September 2026, the leader of Ashfield District Council Councillor Jason Zadrozny was found guilty at Northampton Crown Court of 9 counts of fraud and 4 counts of tax evasion by a jury of his peers.
This conviction came as he defrauded Nottinghamshire County Council out of thousands of pounds of taxpayers money and then pocketed the cash.
He did this by setting up fake community organisations and then using County Council divisional funds to provide cash for these organisations, of which Councillor Zadrozny was the sole controller of the bank accounts. Zadrozny then withdrew the money from these fake community organisations and kept it for his own personal use.
He also failed to pay income tax on several of his rental properties, which only came to light during the police investigation into the fraud charges.
After the guilty verdict, the Judge overseeing the trial said the breach of trust element makes this conviction particularly serious.
This situation raises serious concerns as this individual has been the leader of Ashfield District Council since 2018, ultimately responsible for many millions of pounds of taxpayers’ cash.
Since the verdict, Councillor Zadrozy has stepped down as leader of the council. However, he still remains in his position as a councillor. This has led Ashfield residents to suspect he still has influence over the decision-making of the council which is ran by Ashfield Independent councillors.
Therefore, we have a convicted fraudster who could remain in post as an elected official at least until 27th November when his sentencing hearing is due - but at which point Zadrozny is not guaranteed to receive a sentence that disqualifies him from being a councillor.
Meanwhile, there have been a series of financial issues at the council in recent years.
It was reported earlier this year that Ashfield District Council is facing a significant funding gap of millions of pounds.
It was also reported earlier this year there was a scandal involving a council project, which is being part funded by Government money, where they are building an Automated Distribution & Manufacturing Centre opposite Sutton Parkway train station in Ashfield.
The scandal involved revelations that an independent report had found that the council had broken laws around contract procurement and governance relating to the delivery of the
project.
There are also concerns that publicly funded contracts have been awarded to a business connected to a councillor who has been in the same political group as the Ashfield Independents on Nottinghamshire County Council.
It has become apparent that the council needs to be placed into special measures as a matter or urgency, and a major inspection is needed of Ashfield District Council's finances to assess the financial situation.
Given the nature of the conviction of the authority's former leader, this is now a matter of extreme importance to give transparency to Ashfield residents about the way their hard earned money is being spent by the council.
As the Secretary of State for Local Government, I urge you to intervene immediately.
The district cannot feasibly carry on in this current position. Action needs to be taken now for the residents of Ashfield.
I look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
Lee Anderson MP
Member of Parliament for Ashfield
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